A small business’ financial position has the potential to be either strong or weak. Of course each business owner would prefer to be in the first category, however to achieve this there must be solid strategies in place.

In this segment of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Matthew Nolan discover six key factors that define a company being in a strong financial position. Matthew is the founder and managing director of Provident Inventory Finance. As a sought-after business advisor and finance industry commentator, Matthew has regular columns in over a dozen business magazines and newspapers, advising on issues such as cash flow management, business planning and diversification.

In your opinion, what are the key factors that define a company that is in a strong financial position?

As a lender, my company assesses thousands of businesses every year and from that experience there are six key measures that can be used to indicate a typical company in a strong financial position.

• Net Equity – the level of tangible assets in excess of liabilities is the single most important measure of a company’s financial position. This is because it indicates the owner’s investment in the business and the growth of that investment.
• Debt Levels – this should be measured relatively to the net equity in the business. It’s a key factor because if your business experiences a downturn, you may need to borrow additional funds that won’t be available if the business is already highly geared.
• Working Capital – a business needs available cash to pay its expenses and the level of working capital is a good indicator of this ability. This should be considered in conjunction with the number of days it takes customers to pay and how long suppliers give the business to pay for its purchases.
• Gross Profit Margins – if this indicator is strong relative to industry standards, it shows that sufficient margins can be maintained if competitive pressures increase.
• Profitability – businesses that generate consistent profits, providing suitably high returns for the equity invested, are typically well regarded.
• Stock Turnover – if a company can turn its stock over quickly, relative to others in similar industries, it will make its gross profit margin in a shorter period of time, have lower stock holding costs and less risk of its stock becoming obsolete.

There are many other measures of a business that are relevant to their specific areas of focus, but these provide a balanced, high-level view of a business and its overall strength.

For more of this interview and small business financials check out “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed!“

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Knowing and understanding the secret ingredient to business success may very well be that one thing that you need in order to continue on in your journey and attain that success you desire. Find out why P.A.S.S.I.O.N is the key to business success in this snippet of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Wayne Burgan.

Wayne Burgan is the creator of the book-keeping software Cashflow Manager who has served on the Public Practice Committee, the South Australian Small Business Committee, and the Small Business Centre of Excellence for CPA Australia.

What is the most important thing you have learnt about succeeding in business?

I am often asked to speak at business meetings and my presentation is usually called ‘The Secret Ingredient of Every Successful Business’. It is based on an idea I once heard in a message by the National Director of Youth for Christ, Tim Brown, when he was talking about a successful life. And what is that secret ingredient? Passion.

Passion is the most important thing for succeeding in business – but there’s more to it than just passion.

• P is for ‘Purpose‘ – your purpose gives you direction and stops you from throwing in the towel when everything becomes overwhelming. To use business jargon, your purpose includes your vision and mission, which is another way of defining your reason for being. Having passion and purpose allows you to plan knowing that you have the direction and the zeal to make it happen.
• A is for ‘Attitude’ – Jim Rohn says, ‘It is your philosophy, not the economy that determines your level of success’. When I had the privilege of hearing Michael Gerber (the author of The E-Myth) speak he used a saying that I have never forgotten: ‘The fish stinks from the head down’. As the leader of your business, your attitude toward obstacles, opportunities, risk, customers, staff, suppliers, honesty, integrity and hard work will reflect throughout the culture of your business.
• S is for ‘Service’ – the Bible says to be great you must be a servant (Matthew 20:26), and it is the same for business. After consulting with businesses about what makes them different from their competitors they often say that it is their service. However, the truth is that the general standard of service in Australia is not very good, so businesses that can provide exceptional service will always stand out from the pack. I believe this is where a passionate small business has a huge opportunity over larger companies.
• S is for ‘Sow’ – I think it is very important to continue learning and to then implement what you have learnt. You reap what you sow, and what you sow today determines your results for tomorrow. It is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind of doing the business but it is essential to set time aside for when you work on developing your business. The Pareto Principle (otherwise known as the 80/20 rule) applies here too. Only about 20 per cent of people are interested in learning how to improve themselves and their businesses, and I estimate that only about 5 per cent actually implement what they learn. But if you are in that 5 per cent this gives you a huge advantage over your competitors.
• I is for ‘Incentive’ – the financial rewards of a successful business are an obvious incentive, but so is the value you add to others when you have passion and purpose.
• O is for ‘Ownership’ – everyone is looking for someone else to blame. Accept responsibility so you make an impact. If you don’t have a go, you’ll never know. And if things don’t go right all the time, accept responsibility, learn from it and move on. I think it was President Truman who had a notice on his desk saying, ‘The Buck Stops Here’. Good advice!
• N is for ‘Never give up’ – succeeding in business requires an overdose of persistence. A small business owner undergoes pressures that others would not even imagine. Develop an immunity to criticism and an unshakable belief that you will succeed.

For more info on Secret Ingredient to Business Success and this interview check out Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!

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If you need tips on how to develop a small business, you’ve come to the right place. This is your chance to learn from the best of the best. Discover seven top tips on how to develop a great small business in this fraction of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Wayne Burgan.

Wayne Burgan is the creator of the book-keeping software Cashflow Manager who has served on the Public Practice Committee, the South Australian Small Business Committee, and the Small Business Centre of Excellence for CPA Australia.

What are your top tips for developing a great small business?

• There are four primary functions in a business and you must provide adequate focus on all four: leadership and direction; marketing and sales; product or service fulfillment; and administration and finance.
• Delight your customers. Focus on their needs rather than on getting them to accept what you have to offer. Surveys show that most customers change suppliers because of the perception that their current supplier doesn’t care about them. So focus on delighting them.
• Get good people around you. This applies to mentors and mastermind groups – people with experience from whom you can learn, gather ideas and fast-track your success. It also applies to your advisers and to the people you employ as your business grows.
• Be continually working on your business. It is easy to get so focused on the demands of delivering products and services that we ignore the other elements of building the business. Allocate time to work on things such as your marketing, strategic direction, planning, and both personal and business growth.
• Learn and implement. We received an email from a client recently thanking us because their average contract had increased from $3,000 to $30,000, and they had grown from a one-man operation to seven employees as a result of a marketing book we had sent them. The difference between them and everyone else who received the same information and didn’t experience similar results was that they implemented the information they received. Knowledge without implementation is just knowledge.Knowledge plus implementation equals unbelievable results.
• Make sure that you have passion and all that entails from what I have discussed before.
• Remember that your business is a means to an end, not an end in itself. To be successful in business you need to lead a balanced life so don’t become so absorbed in your business that it becomes your life and everything else falls down around you.

For more info on 7 Top Tips on How to Develop a Small Business and this interview check out Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!

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If you are in the decision phase of whether or not to take the step of owning your own business, this success tip is for you. There is a lot of “information” out there as to why you shouldn’t own your own business, but let’s take a different look at it and find out what the benefits would be if you were a business owner. Find out four major benefits from someone who was once in your shoes in this segment of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Suzi Dafnis.

Suzi was the founder of Pow Wow Events, a company distributes books and other learning products, and occupies more than 50% of the market in the personal finance, personal development and business skills segment. Having now sold that company, she is the director of the Australian Business Women’s Network.

What do you think are some of the major benefits of having your own business?

Being as passionate as I am about business, I am sure I could easily write a whole book on this question alone. However, here’s a quick summary of what I think are four of the main benefits of business ownership.

• You get to think differently – I remember in 1998 Apple launched its ‘Think Different’ campaign. Its ads featured a montage of people such as Albert Einstein, Richard Branson, Amelia Earhart, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Picasso, and the voiceover said: ‘They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward’. In other words, they change the world. That’s the way I feel about business. By daring to build your own business you are forced to think differently, and by doing so you touch the lives of thousands, or possibility even millions, of people.
• You get to be your own boss – One of the main reasons I decided to start my own business was because I don’t like limits, rules or being told what to do. That’s my nature; I think it is in every entrepreneur’s nature! In most jobs, regardless of how senior your role is, or how hard you work, you’re expected to be somewhere at some time, and do something in exchange for a defined pay-cheque at the end of the week, fortnight or month. I started my own business so that I could have the freedom to create my life just the way I wanted it. Today, as my own boss I work harder (much harder) than I did when I was an employee, but I love it! The good thing is that I work because I choose to, not because I have to, and when I want time off, I take it. It’s a great feeling.
• No glass ceiling and no ladders to climb – Another upside of entrepreneurship, especially for women, is that there is no glass ceiling and there is no corporate ladder. No one can put a cap on your earning potential and you don’t have to play politics just to keep your job. Business doesn’t care about your past, whether you’re a man or a woman, your age or your background, it doesn’t have prejudice – it is just a creative process and anyone can use business as a vehicle to obtain their own sovereignty.
• The alchemy of business – With business you have the power to create something out of nothing. First there is an idea, then you add your knowledge, time, money and intention – and suddenly, you have a new ‘something’. That’s magic. I believe business is the ultimate creative endeavour. I’ve often thought that I’m not using my creativity, until I check in and remember that there was once nothing and now there are hundreds of thousands of people with experiences that resulted from something I created. It’s very humbling.

For more on the Major Benefits to Owning Your Own Business and this interview check out Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!

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Understanding the keys to business success is a necessary strategy that will propel you and your business into a future of success. No one said it would be an easy journey, but it is something that is worth attaining, and the attainment of it can be within your grasp. Discover six keys to business success direct from a CEO of a multi-million dollar company in this fraction of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Sue Whyte.

Sue is the CEO of Intimo Lingerie, a multi-million dollar company in the direct sales industry. It has over 50 staff and more than 1,000 consultants across Australia and New Zealand.

What are the most important things you have learnt about succeeding in business?

I have learnt six key values over the years:

• Keep your customers happy – If you have a happy customer you will have a customer for the long term. The quality of customer service is just as important as the quality of the product. Our customers are happy because they have a beautiful, exclusive product, they receive individual and personalised attention from their consultant, and efficient processing and delivery of their orders. Our product is unique and the service they receive is genuine, caring and professional throughout the entire experience. Our consultants are not only attentive at the time of purchase, they also follow-up to make sure that customers are satisfied and happy with their purchases. I often receive letters from customers who were delighted with their consultant and their purchasing experience. Your customers are the most important part of your business because without them there is no business. Give them reasons to be loyal and satisfied.
• Surround yourself with people who share the vision – You must surround yourself with people who share the same vision and passion as you. I could not have built my dream company without my loyal staff by my side, many of whom have been working for Intimo since the beginning. Good people are a company’s greatest asset and it is important to retain the right people. Communicate regularly and get to know your people. Understand their needs and their lives outside the office – get to know their partner’s and children’s names, and find out what’s important to them. Everyone’s needs are slightly different so it’s important to care about them as individuals, not just as someone doing a job.
• Delegation – Don’t be afraid to delegate. Trying to do everything yourself will inhibit the potential of your business. Learning to delegate and become more selective of what I devoted my time to removed what was holding me back – and it also empowered my staff. Delegating demonstrates trust and gives everyone a sense of ownership of the organisation. It is also a key to managing growth. As a business owner, it can be difficult to let go of ‘your baby’ and trust others to treat it with the same level of care and understanding. This comes down to making sure that you employ the right people. If you don’t let go, the business will never realise its true potential.
• Transparency – Make sure your staff has a very clear understanding of what you are about and what you are trying to achieve. By engaging them and collaborating you are taking them on the journey with you, not for you.
• Commitment – Never lose sight of what you believe in and never give up. Absolute commitment and determination mixed with an ability to always see the positive is vital. Try not to dwell on the negative. If a difficult situation arises, always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel. None of us is perfect and unexpected things do happen. It’s okay to make a mistake as long as you don’t lose your focus. Deal with it, learn from it and move on.
• Treat the business like a marriage – “You need to take as much care when selecting a business partner as you would in choosing a life partner”, and you need to constantly work on developing that relationship. Never take it for granted. Nothing can stall an organisation faster than a deteriorating business partnership.

For more info on Keys to Business Success  and this interview check out “Secrets of Female Entrepreneurs Exposed!“

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Not many businessmen and women know the incredible value and importance of a business coach or mentor. For starters they are someone from the outside looking in, a new and varying perspective that can bring new ideas and new ways of thinking. Find out more on the importance of business coaches in this snippet from an interview between Dale Beaumont and Joshua Nicholls.

Joshua Nicholls is the owner of Platinum Electrical Contractors, which in just four years has experienced a growth of 790%. From it’s humble beginnings, Platinum Electrical has now grown to have over 30 employees and has been a finalist and won many small business awards.

Why do you believe that having a business coach or mentor is important? How have they helped you?

Having a coach or mentor is really important because they are an independent sounding board with business experience and great wisdom.

A coach is not a consultant who comes into your business and tells you what to do or does it for you. Rather, a coach spends time listening to where you’re at in your business and then initiates discussions to facilitate problem solving and strategic planning. This concept was a little hard to get my head around at first, I couldn’t believe that I was paying a lot of money to do all the work myself. However, the ‘coaching’ technique is definitely invaluable because it is not the quick fix that many consultants who come in and out of your business in a hurry usually provide. Instead, coaching forces you to think and learn for yourself – the first-hand knowledge acquisition and personal development lasts for a lifetime. I have found that you cannot grow your business without first growing yourself.When I started my business I was definitely an experienced electrician but I had no real idea about running a business. Eighteen months along and working almost 90 hours a week, I employed the services of a business coach and have never looked back.

The best thing about a coach or mentor is that they keep you accountable to your vision. Often as a small business owner you can get caught working in your business and not spending enough time working on it and moving toward your business goals. Having weekly or even fortnightly meetings with a coach forces you to take a few hours out to specifically think about your business and where it’s heading. Although taking this time out is extremely important, small business owners often say they are too busy and don’t prioritise it. This is dangerous and small business owners often don’t meet their goals because they don’t spend enough time strategically planning. This is where coaches keep you accountable and regularly challenge you on your progress.

I have also found that having a coach can stop you from learning the hard way and making big mistakes. Because I have listened to the words of wisdom of other people, it has allowed me to progress quickly without too many deterrents as a result of making wrong choices.

Fore more info on The Importance of a Business Coach or Mentor and this interview check out Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!

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Getting great media coverage can do wonders for your company, however it comes down to knowing exactly how to increase media coverage. There are so many possible stories out there, so what is it about your company that will be a winner? Find out some great tips on how to increase your media profile and exposure in this segment of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Justine Herald. In-demand corporate and public speaker. Founder of Attitude Clothing, a multi-million dollar company he started with only 50 bucks.

What are some of the tips you can give people about how they can increase their media profile or exposure?

The best advice is to think about why the media would want to do a story on you. The reason they would do a story on me is because I have a story behind the story – the fact that I started with $50 is what the media like, what I started is totally irrelevant to them, it’s the whole emotional angle that they want. So they might do a story on who you are, why you started the company and what your product is, but the product itself is of no interest to them. So if you have a story behind your story, I’d be getting that out there. When it comes to talking to the media, I don’t talk about my products that much. They do, but I don’t, because the minute I do they start thinking, ‘Hang on, he’s just after a big product plug here’. I don’t want them to think that so I talk about other stuff, I’ll talk about people in business these days and I’ll go on about other people and then they’ll always come back with, ‘As Justin has done with Attitude gear… and his t-shirts say this… and this shirt is sold in this place…’ And I think that’s wonderful.

I use the media as part of my marketing plan. I’ve never spent a single cent on advertising in nine years and I never will because the media has done it for me. I manipulate the media, in the nicest possible way.

Fore more Tips on How to Increase Media Coverage: Your Profile and Exposure and this interview check out Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!

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With so many options out there in regards to business building, it is absolutely essential to know how to get started in business and where exactly to begin. There is nothing worse than being so overwhelmed with all the options that you are unable to focus on what is needed to be accomplished. Discover incredible recommendations on getting started in business in this snippet of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Wayne Burgan.

Wayne Burgan is the creator of the book-keeping software Cashflow Manager who has served on the Public Practice Committee, the South Australian Small Business Committee, and the Small Business Centre of Excellence for CPA Australia.

What recommendations would you make to someone who wants to get started in a business of their own?

Owning your own business can be tremendously rewarding, but it is not all beer and skittles. You will have enormous pressures from time to time, have to work long hours, possibly go without holidays, and it can be enormously stressful on you and those around you. So it is vital to do your homework first. Detailed questions are available in Starting a Business? How to Avoid Losing your Shirt! which is available on our website, but here is a summary of the questions you need to consider:

• Have you got what it takes? Owning your own business can bring a lot of extra pressures that an employee does not normally face. Will you cope when they come?
• How well do you understand the business? If you understand the business or industry you plan to go into then you will have a much better chance of success.
• Other than enthusiasm and the best of intentions, what will make your business successful?
• What will make you different and unique? Why should I buy from you rather than any other alternative available to me?
• Do you have, or can you access, the financial resources required?
• What sales will you need to achieve?
• What physical resources will you need?
• What human resources will you require?

If you are struggling with some of these questions, a good accountant can help you. And when you decide to start your business they can also help you with other issues such as the best legal structure for your business.

For more on Recommendations on How to Get Started in Business and this check out “Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!“

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Knowing the role of an entrepreneur in a business leads the way towards success, understanding the leadership and what is required is vital. Discover an unusually clever description of business and the role of an entrepreneur in this snippet from an interview between Dale Beaumont and Joseph Chou – CEO of Ironfish, an integrated financial services company, specialising in teaching others to create wealth.

You have an interesting way to describe business and the role an entrepreneur plays. Can you share that?

Running a business is like conducting a symphony orchestra. The entrepreneur is like the conductor – to put on a great performance the conductor must employ the best musicians and let them play the best symphony pieces. The musicians are like the team members of a company and the music score is like the system in a business. If you do not have the best players, you will not put on a great performance even though they may be playing a musical masterpiece. By the same token, if you do not have great music to play, you will not perform well even with the best musicians.

Some entrepreneurs think they are superior to everyone else, and therefore tend to hire people who are obedient and loyal, and/or people who are trustworthy, like family or friends. They are inclined to hire people that will worship them or their perceived success. While these entrepreneurs may experience some success, it will be difficult to sustain. An entrepreneur who thinks they are the best at everything is just like a conductor who thinks they’re the best violinist, the best viola player, the best cellist and the best drummer. Imagine a conductor who writes his own music, plays the first violin, the second violin, the viola, the cello, the trombone, the trumpet, the drum, and conducts all at the same time. What kind of symphony will he come up with? Some business people run their businesses like that.

In 2005, when I was speaking about business in China to a TV audience of millions, an individual from the live studio audience asked me, ‘How come I cannot hire good people? How come I am so tired?’ I asked him to tell me a little bit about his business. He said, ‘The problem with my business is that I am the person who brings in all the revenue. Everybody else spends it. All my people are very obedient. They do whatever I tell them to do…’ My advice to him? Fire the obedient people and hire some talented people. Even if they challenge your thinking, you will have a much better business.

For more on the Roles of an Entrepreneur and this interview check out “Secrets of Male Entrepreneurs Exposed!“

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If you thinking about opening a business, then these two key recommendations for starting a business is what you need and a great place to start. Joshua Nicholls is an outstanding business owner who has seen incredible success and he shares his recommendations in this portion of an interview conducted by Dale Beaumont.

Joshua Nicholls is the owner of Platinum Electrical Contractors, which in just four years has experienced a growth of 790%. From it’s humble beginnings, Platinum Electrical has now grown to have over 30 employees and has been a finalist and won many small business awards.

What recommendations would you make to someone else who wants to get started in a business of his or her own?

I have two recommendations.

• First, don’t be a hero and think that you don’t need any help. If you are starting a business for the first time, then you obviously have no experience running a business – so seek wise counsel and ask for help. Your business will grow much quicker if you work with a business coach or mentor and hold yourself accountable to them.
• Second, understand that not everyone is suited to business. Are you? Identify your strengths and weaknesses and really contemplate whether you were created to be in business. Being great at what you do doesn’t mean you will be great at running a business. I was extremely fortunate to find out that I was good at business. However, like many small business owners, I could have found out the hard way that business wasn’t for me. Starting a business can impose huge financial pressure, so consider whether joining a franchise or starting from scratch is best for you.

Fore more on Recommendations on Starting a Business and this interview check out “Secrets of Small Business Owners Exposed!“

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